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Hearings on the potential construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), opposed by native and environmental activists, begin on October 18th:
If you are going to spend more than a billion dollars building one of the world's biggest telescopes, you'll want to put it in a place with the best possible view of the stars. But in the case of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), an instrument that promises unprecedented images of everything from the most distant galaxies to nearby exoplanets, builders may have to settle for second best.
Next week, the fierce legal and cultural battle that has engulfed efforts to build the TMT on Mauna Kea, a 4207-meter-high peak in Hawaii, will reignite as state officials open a pivotal hearing on whether to allow construction. The peak is rated as the best observing site in the Northern Hemisphere, but for Native Hawaiians it is sacred land, and many residents oppose the project. "The risk [to the project] is by no means small," says project manager Gary Sanders of the TMT International Observatory in Pasadena, California, and "the cost of delay is significant." So the project is also hedging its bets by considering alternative sites.
There is a wealth of information available on the Thirty-Meter Telescope web site.
Previously:
Protests Temporarily Halt Thirty-Meter Telescope's Construction in Hawaii
Hawaiian Court Revokes Permit for Construction of Thirty-Meter-Telescope
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 18 2016, @11:38PM
There better sites...
Mt McKinley, Alaska
Mt Everest or K2 next door
Hell, enter "highest mountains" in a search engine to get a great list!
They wanr Hawaii... to party, not work. The telescopes are now basically all comupters and video cameras. You need local tech to keep it going, think "light-keeper" of old. No one needs to "work" there or see the output but 1 person any more. It is way space is best location!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 18 2016, @11:50PM
Ever hear of clouds? All those mountains have too.
(Score: 2, Informative) by khallow on Wednesday October 19 2016, @12:04AM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 19 2016, @02:25AM
When you lop off the top to build flat foundation., no one will fall. With the thin air less dirt and other partials. Same reason they fly telescopes in planes.
But agreement again showed thT moon or space is a better location.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday October 19 2016, @05:29AM
When you lop off the top to build flat foundation
Falling isn't the only danger. These mountains also readily kill people through some of the worst weather in the world such as hurricane strength blizzards. Also, Mt. Everest and K2 can kill people by low pressure. Even breathing pure oxygen, these mountains are barely survivable under normal conditions. When a low pressure system moves in, that can tip the scales.